Winners of the tournament
Carlos Alcaraz fired a warning shot ahead of his title defence in Paris next week, with the Spaniard picking up his first Rome Masters crown after a 7-6(5), 6-1 win over the returning Jannik Sinner.
Having seen off the likes of Jack Draper and Lorenzo Musetti en route to the final, Alcaraz battled through a cagey, error-strewn first set against Sinner before putting his foot on the accelerator and blowing away the Italian in a one-sided second.
It's a second Masters 1000 title of the year for the Spaniard, adding to his victory at Monte Carlo last month, and as a result of his excellent clay-court swing, he climbs to second in the rankings behind Sinner.
Despite defeat, there were plenty of encouraging signs for Sinner throughout the tournament, with his return setting up the tantalising prospect of another final clash with Alcaraz at Roland Garros.
On the women’s side of the tournament, it was a memorable fortnight for Jasmine Paolini, with the home favourite defeating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in Saturday’s final to claim her second WTA 1000 crown.
Paolini was forced to battle through some tricky periods in matches against Diana Shnaider and Peyton Stearns, but she upped her game in the showpiece, producing a near-perfect display to become the first Italian woman to win the Rome Masters since Raffaella Reggi in 1985.
Buoyed by that achievement, she also picked up the doubles title alongside Sara Errani a day later, with the pair seeing off Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-5.
It continues a remarkable 18 months for the captivating 29-year-old, who will move above Iga Swiatek and up to fourth in the rankings ahead of the French Open.
Having fallen short against the Pole in last year’s Roland Garros final, Paolini will be determined to go one step further this time around and capture her maiden Grand Slam title.
Strugglers of the tournament
As mentioned above, Swiatek’s early exit in Rome has seen her drop to fifth in the WTA rankings. Remarkably, it’s the first time she’s been outside the top three since March 2022.
A three-time champion in the Italian capital, Swiatek’s comprehensive third-round defeat to Danielle Collins continues a drastic downturn in form, with the Pole’s confidence at an all-time low.
Without a title since last year’s French Open, Swiatek was dismantled by Gauff in the Madrid semi-finals and has also fallen to Mirra Andreeva, Alexandra Eala and arch-nemesis Jelena Ostapenko in recent months.
The world number five heads to her favourite hunting ground, Roland Garros, with a point to prove next week, however, the prospect of a quarter-final clash against one of the top seeds looks to be a major problem on current form.
Men’s world number four Taylor Fritz endured a similarly disappointing tournament in Rome, falling to a 7-6(4), 7-6(3) defeat to compatriot Marcos Giron in the second round.
While it was a match of fine margins that ultimately could have gone either way, Fritz was unable to find any kind of consistency with his serve and forehand - a far cry from the back end of 2024 when he was sweeping aside opponents of Giron’s calibre with ease.
The American, who has traditionally struggled to find his best form on clay, will be desperate to give a better account of himself in Paris next week as he looks to progress beyond the fourth round for the first time.
Moment of the tournament
While Sinner was unable to mark his return from suspension with a title, the Italian's 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals served as an ominous warning to the rest of the Tour.
Sinner clinched the opening set in 27 minutes, losing only seven points, and he continued his domination in the second to secure a statement victory over the in-form Norwegian.
"It's as near as perfect that I witnessed, at least as a player, playing someone, so just got to give it to him," Ruud told reporters after the match.
"You just look at the guy and say 'wow this is kind of next-level shit', excuse my language. I don't know what else to say, it was almost fun to witness."
Rallies of the tournament
Elina Svitolina has been in fine form over the clay-court swing, and her quality was on full display in this superb rally against Stearns in the Rome quarter-final.
Alexander Zverev might have fallen short in his quarter-final clash against Musetti, but the German was at his very best to win this epic point at the start of the second set.
Upcoming events
It’s one of the quieter weeks on the tennis calendar, with four tune-up tournaments taking place ahead of the French Open.
However, there are still plenty of notable names in action as Novak Djokovic and Fritz headline the ATP event in Geneva, with both players looking to build some much-needed clay-court momentum.
Zverev and Jessica Pegula are the top seeds in Hamburg and Strasbourg respectively, while there’s also a WTA 250 event in Rabat.
Check out the full schedule for tournaments in Geneva, Hamburg, Strasbourg and Rabat via the links.
